After years of teaching 18th century British literature, in 1975 he crossed from academic to public intellectual with The Great War and Modern Memory, a seminal book examining how World War I, by its scope and immense carnage, caused a disillusionment that plagued Western society for decades.

Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together.

The opium-eating sod sidled off gurgling. He hadn't understood.

So this is a plot to shield this arch-fiend, and I have detected it. A word from me, and three heads besides his would roll from their shoulders!